In just its second year in Class 3A, the Thrall softball team made a lot of noise.
The Tigerettes, inspired by their baseball brethren’s state final run a year ago, won the District 19-3A championship and became the first team in softball program history to reach the region final round. For their efforts, multiple Tigerettes received accolades on the District 19-3A all-district team.
Four individuals associated with Thrall (30-12) earned superlative honors. They are head coach Matt Pokorny, freshman Reese Madsen, senior Miley Pokorny and junior Kenzie Engelke.
The elder Pokorny earned the 19-3A Coach of the Year award. His “have fun” attitude was contagious as the Tigerettes had so much fun they advanced to the 3A-Division II region final round where they fell in three games against Kirbyville.
Madsen was named the district’s Most Valuable Player. A center fielder, Madsen was one of the Tigerettes’ top hitters.
Pokorny’s daughter, Miley, was named the district’s Pitcher of the Year. The younger Pokorny was a nightmare for opposing hitters and eclipsed the 1,000-strikeout milestone during her four-year career.
Miley Pokorny will play at Concordia-Austin next season. It will be the first time she will be coached by somebody other than her father.
Engelke was named the Most Valuable Designated Player for 19-3A. The junior was one of the top hitters and split catching duties with senior Riley Luton, who was one of six first team Tigerettes.
In addition to Luton, junior Adelynn Bishop, freshman Addison Dickens, sophomore Piper Hernandez, freshman Ryleigh Jensen and sophomore Selena Quintanilla also earned first team honors. Bishop played second base, Dickens was a third baseman, Hernandez played left field, Jensen was first base and Quintanilla played shortstop.
Thrall also had six players on the second team. They were Macie Eckhart, AJ Masters, Brooklyn Reyes, Alegra Rivera, Lilly Slough and Mireya Torres.
